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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.